COM 301: Navigating Information Networks for Mass Media - Winter 2015 (Johnson): Scholarly v. Popular

Scholarly v Popular Sources

	Scholarly Resources	Popular Resources
Audience	Scholars and researcher within a specific field or discipline (eg. Evolutionary Psychology, or 18th Century European Politics).	The general public, or readers interested in a general subject (eg. readers of Psychology Today, or Wired). Non-experts.
Purpose	Report on the results of new research. Discuss the results of ongoing research.	Report on current events. Summarize research that may interest the general public or general readers. Entertain.
Authors	Scholars and researchers. Readers of scholarly materials are more of an expert in the subject than an average reader. The author and their institution are always identified.	Journalists or non-experts. It is not uncommon for the author to be unnamed.
Language	Highly specialized and/or technical. Includes vocabulary and jargon that is readily understood by researchers in the field, but not an average reader.	General, average language is used. Item may be read and understood by just about anyone.
Sources	Footnotes and/or an extensive bibliography are always included. Sources are cited in text and listed in footnotes and/or at the end of the work.	Do not usually contain citations, footnotes, or a list of sources consulted.

Information (Publication) Cycle

When an idea, technology, or event enters the public consciousness, it is first reported through social media, news, and magazines.

It can take a year or more for it to appear in scholarly journals, books, and reference sources.

Depending on the newness of your topic, you may not find scholarly sources on your exact topic.

Research topic example: Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear threat

Watch the Information Cycle: Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear threat video

This natural disaster occurred on March 11, 2011which is relatively recent in the information and publication world. It has been covered in newspapers, magazines, and government documents, but fewer scholarly articles and books are available.

To find additional scholarly information, broaden your search for scholarly articles and books to cover the lasting impact of other tsunamis and nuclear problems that have occurred.

japan AND tsunami AND nuclear
japan AND tsunami AND "Fukushima nuclear reactor"
tsunami AND (aftermath OR impact)
"nuclear reactor" AND meltdown
nuclear AND japan AND (reactor OR power)

Know your sources

For your assignment, you need to find these sources:

4 peer viewed/refereed journal articles
2 book chapters from edited scholarly books
1 scholarly books
2 news articles
1 credible web site
2 more scholarly items of your choice

Not sure if an article is scholarly or popular? Need to verify that a journal is refereed? Search the Ulrichsweb periodicals directory for the title of the publication in which the article was published to see if the Document Type is academic/scholarly.